Safety After the Storm: AWP Assisting Hurricane Cleanup Crews

Hurricane Michael made landfall on October 10. It claimed more than three dozen lives. Cleanup crews continue working round-the-clock to restore power and to clear and reopen roads. Those crews include AWP flaggers, supervisors and project managers.

After devastating events like hurricanes or flooding, area residents typically return home before their communities are fully functional. During recent hurricane recovery efforts, AWP’s Protectors, (often referred to as “flaggers”) and field managers worked with first responders, major utility and DOT supervisors to get traffic moving as safely as possible, as quickly as possible.

“We deployed hundreds of crew members from local and surrounding states. We held action and assessment meetings daily to ensure our internal teams and our customers were in constant alignment, always placing safety at the forefront. I couldn’t be prouder of these resilient communities and all those who worked, and continue to work, tirelessly to protect and restore them,” said Jarrod Wachter, AWP VP of Operations.

“Our efforts have been in flux as power and other utilities are being restored. We are focused on being nimble and responsive to the needs of our customers so that they can move as efficient as possible in the wake of such destruction,” said Wachter.

Since Florence and Michael hit the East Coast, residents have been returning to their neighborhoods in the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia where they share damaged roadways with utility and cleanup crews. Keeping everyone safe by maintaining necessary road closures and ensuring that access points and detours are clearly marked is critical not only during cleanup, but also during recovery and reconstruction.

Temporary power stations throughout the impacted states are already giving way to new utility pole placements; road repair and other activity is constant. As fast as conditions change, routes and signage also must be changed.

This is when storm recovery experience really pays off.

AWP Action Plan for Emergencies

AWP has formulated a comprehensive, step-by-step action plan that is followed to ensure we are providing a reliable, safe, and efficient response to emergency situations. AWP’s Emergency and Storm Response Plan focuses on best safety practices as well as collaborative communication and coordination protocol, all designed to provide the safest traffic and work zone environments for emergency and utility workers as well as area residents.

“When chaos kicks up, we bring the calm,” said Fran Gleason, AWP Regional Manager. The Carolina coast endured major flooding, causing among other things, many impassable routes. Getting through to affected areas was extremely challenging after Hurricane Florence. Collaboration and communication was key to efficient recovery efforts,” said Gleason.

While that action plan is ideal for use in hurricane recovery projects like those going on in areas devastated by Hurricanes Florence and Michael, it was developed based on our experience in a wide variety of emergency response efforts. The experience gained through years of storm seasons and emergency situations has equipped AWP to successfully expect the unexpected.